Lets face it, State of Origin football in the AFL is dead. The last time AFL players played the traditional format was in 1999.
Victoria inflicted a massive defeat on South Australia in wet conditions in front of a crowd of just 26,063.
Crowds of over 90,000 flocked to the MCG to see the format decades earlier before expansion clubs eradicated the state versus state rivalry. But the VFL/AFL had a concept which excited the fans.
State of Origin football in rugby league works because the NRL are relentless in marketing it as the biggest show in town.
Arguably the best marketed sports concept of all time is the NBA All-Star Game. The sport’s biggest names including Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James have captured the fans hearts with this concept. A rivalry emerged from the old (east) versus new (west) US settlement of States; however it is the assembly of talent which engulfs the viewers.
With the evolution of sports television and the internet, the NBA All-Star Game is the ultimate form of fan fed reality TV, because they get to choose the starting fives.
It should be a “no brainer” for the AFL to put on a game featuring the elitist football talent with the ultimate line-ups the choice of footy fans.
Since the AFL has finished its expansion, a workable concept is heritage clubs versus expansion clubs.
The heritage clubs (1897-1908) include Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy/Brisbane, Geelong, Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda and South Melbourne/Sydney.
The expansion clubs (1925-2012) include Adelaide, Fremantle, Hawthorn, Gold Coast, Greater Western Sydney, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Footscray/Western Bulldogs and West Coast Eagles.
This results in an even nine club split for each team to assemble its players. The midfield groups could potentially comprise Judd, Swan, Watson, Rockliff, J. Selwood, Trengove, Cotchin, Hayes and J. Kennedy (Heritage) versus S. Thompson, Fyfe, Hodge, Ablett, Ward, A. Swallow, Hartlett, Griffen and Priddis (Expansion).
The All-Australian selection committee could choose the squads with all teams represented, and fans can vote for the starting line-ups. The game could be played instead of a pre-season cup grand final (which is only to sustain television ratings before round 1) or in the week before round 1.
The players have already thrown their support behind a game scheduled in this slot, but are cooling down on State of Origin.
There is a window of opportunity for the AFL and its broadcast partners in 2013 to put on the biggest show in town. Perhaps even get the ‘baby boomers’ behind team Heritage and ‘generation Y’ behind team Expansion.
This is the best option for the AFL in terms of representative football.
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